


rain

by bringingglory



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I have no idea how to tag this I'm so sorry, Mutual Pining, Talking, pre-game, though its mostly in link's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 14:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bringingglory/pseuds/bringingglory
Summary: Link and Zelda are caught in a thunderstorm and have to wait it out in a cave for the night.





	rain

Link led the way as they walked through a field, sword sheathed and eyes scanning the area for nearby monsters. They had been traveling through Central Hyrule to get to Ridgeland when Link felt a drop of rain land on his face and the metal of the metal of the Master Sword start to spark in its sheath. 

“A rainstorm,” observed Zelda, looking up at the graying clouds.

Not a moment later, lightning cracked across the sky. The sky seemed to burst open as rain began to pour.

_ A thunderstorm,  _ Link mentally corrected.

He quickly tugged his cloak off and tossed it to Zelda.

“Wait, Link, I don’t need this! You should—”

“Just take it.” He pulled the hood down over her head and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the rain. He looked around the area and frowned. “We must be miles from the nearest stable, but if we go to those cliffs up ahead, we could find a cave and wait out the storm.”

Zelda peered out at him from beneath his hood, looking shocked that he had spoken to her. “Link—”

“Come on, we should go before we get struck by lightning.”

“Right.”

Link grabbed her wrist and ran. Only a second later did he realize what he was doing and he  _ hoped _ that Zelda wouldn’t pull away.

He didn’t often touch Zelda—just a hand to help her up or a nudge to keep her from falling. He remembered when he was first assigned to guard the princess, how cold and angry she was towards him and pulled away irritably whenever he so much as brushed her arm. He was afraid of stepping out of line again in case she would remember why she disliked him in the first place and go back to hating him.

But she wasn’t pulling away now, and that calmed Link’s nerves a bit as he pulled her along, secretly thankful for the storm and the excuse it gave him to keep his fingers around her wrist.

In the distance, the giant wall of the cliff side rose out of the mist before him. When he squinted, he could make out a cluster of rocks at the bottom, so he tightened his grip on Zelda and picked up the pace.

Lightning struck the ground a few yards away, sending shockwaves through the ground and making Link nearly lose his footing.

“Ah!” Zelda stumbled and Link quickly spun around, catching her by the arms. For a moment, as he pulled her back to her feet, Link could make out the details in Zelda’s eyes as she stared at him, faces inches apart, breathing the same air. Link quickly released her and started running again.

They stumbled through the grass, the ground becoming more slick with rain and mud by the second. He heard lightning strike in the distance—the top of the cliff? Then, the distinct sound of the trunk of a tree splitting and falling. The weather was becoming more dangerous by the minute, and when they reached the opening of the cave, Link quickly pushed Zelda in front of him and into the cave before stumbling in after her, collapsing against a wall to catch his breath.

“Sweet Hylia,” mumbled Zelda.

Link turned around to examine the world outside the cave. The rain was falling so hard now, it created a thick mist that wouldn’t let him see more than a few feet outside. Lightning snaked through gray clouds before striking the ground and he could feel the rumble of thunder on the cave floor through his boots.

He turned back around and walked a little further into the cave before kneeling down.

Goddess, his tunic was  _ soaked.  _ He could feel the wet fabric clinging uncomfortably to his skin, the cold seeping into his bones. He pulled the tunic off over his head, shivering at the frigid air. His undershirt was significantly less wet, but it was thinner and less protective so he knew he needed to squeeze the excess water out of his tunic if he wanted it to dry by morning.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you without that tunic on,” said Zelda, her voice alarmingly loud in the dank cave.

He looked at her, startled. “It’s wet.”

“I would imagine.” Zelda had a small smile on her face like she was amused. 

Link wanted to return that smile, but he wasn’t sure if he got the joke. So instead, he nodded and went back to work.

“Thank you for your cloak,” she said softly.

Link only nodded and unrolled his tunic, pressing the fabric between his fingers to check how wet it was. He glanced back at Zelda and saw her sliding his cloak off her shoulders, wringing the water out of it between her hands. As he watched, he saw a small tremor go through her.

“Are you cold?” Link asked.

“A little," she replied, laying the cloak flat on the ground to dry.

“Hm.” Link noticed some lightly charred firewood in the center of the cave. Someone must have camped in the cave before and left it behind. He brushed his fingers over the wood and discovered it was mostly dry.

“Princess.” He motioned for her to scoot back and she complied, tucking her knees into her chest.

Link pulled a piece of flint out of his pouch and laid it next to the wood. He struck the flint with his sword, creating a small spark that caught onto the firewood. Soon, a tiny flame appeared and he leaned forward to tend to the new flame.

Zelda let out a quiet laugh. Link turned to her, head tilted to the side to give her a questioning look.

“Nothing,” she laughed again. “It’s just...I never thought I would see the Master Sword being used to start a fire.”

Link gave her a half-smile. “You have to use your resources when you’re out in the wild.”

Surprisingly, she returned his smile, making his heart stumble in his chest. “Yes, I suppose so.”

He turned back to the fire to hide the goofy smile threatening to overtake his face. He nudged the logs with his sword, blowing on the embers to give air to the fire. Eventually, he sat back against the wall to rest.

“Are you still cold?” Link asked.

Zelda gave a small nod.

He hesitated, only for a second, before he said, “You can come over here. It’s closer to the fire.”

She glanced at him and said, “Okay.” 

He watched as she stood up and walked over to Link’s side of the fire. When she sat down, their shoulders brushed.

Link involuntarily tensed and forced himself to relax. He focused on the fire instead, poking the logs absentmindedly with his sword.

Zelda watched him and snorted, her breath coming out in a puff. “Link, I can’t believe you’re using the  _ sword that seals the darkness  _ as a  _ fire stoker. _ ”

He turned his head to grin at her and faltered.

Zelda was watching him, their faces as close as when he had helped her up in the rain. He could see the orange light of the fire reflected in her green eyes, giving them an odd glow. The light of the fire bounced off the curves of her face and highlighted a stray strand of hair curling around her forehead. He found the image strangely endearing because he couldn’t remember ever seeing her hair even lightly mussed, but he quickly pushed down the thought.

“You know, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you smile before now,” she remarked.

“Really?”

“You’re so serious all the time.” Zelda finally looked away from him, releasing Link from the hold her eyes had on him. She grabbed an arrow from his quiver and began to poke at the logs with the metal tip. “Your smiles are a rare commodity to find.” She leaned over and tapped the metal of the Master Sword with the arrow.

“Oh, I—I’m sorry.” Link wasn’t sure what to say to that. 

“Don’t be, it’s not something to be sorry for. It was just...an observation. Though it’s a shame, I do wish I could see them more.” She said the last part so softly, Link almost thought he had imagined her saying it. “I also can’t remember the last time you said this many words so me,” she said quickly before he could respond.

“I’m sorry for that, too. I don’t mean to offend—”

She cut him off. “No, I’m not—that’s not it. It’s just—it’s always a surprise to hear your voice. But...it’s a welcome one.”

Link resisted the urge to stare at her and stared at the fire instead. Zelda tapped Link’s sword again with the arrow before she straightened and set it aside.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked.

“Huh?”

“What are you thinking about, Link?”

What was he thinking about?

He was thinking about the way her eyes changed color in the firelight and the way her laugh felt like a punch aimed at his heart. He was thinking about the centimeter distance between their shoulders and how if he took a deep enough breath, his chest would expand enough to brush their shoulders together, and also how afraid he was of how Zelda would react if he did. He was thinking about how she said the sound of his voice was a welcome surprise. He was thinking about his wet tunic and how cold he was and he was thinking about how Zelda had said she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him smile when most of the time, he was trying to hide his goofy smiles from her every time she did something that made his nerves flutter.

But he couldn’t very well tell her  _ that. _

So he said, “I’m thinking about how I might need a haircut.” He grabbed his tiny ponytail and squeezed water out of it. “It’s getting in my face more and I’m starting to find long her to be annoying.”

“I know how you feel.” Zelda lifted a hand and brushed her fingers through his ponytail, fingertips barely grazing the back of his neck. “I like your hair, though.”

Link thought he was going to die because Zelda was  _ so close,  _ but he forced himself to keep talking. “What about you, Your Highness?” He cleared his throat. Goddess, they were just having a conversation and he needed to calm down. “What are you thinking about?”

He watched as Zelda’s gaze landed on the Sheikah Slate and he knew she was thinking about Ganon, the Champions, the power she was supposed to have, the destiny they were supposed to fulfill. She always was.

But she didn’t say any of that. Instead, she said, “The weather. This rain. I can’t believe how close that lightning got to us.”

The memory of Zelda’s face inches from his own flashed through his mind. “Yeah. Are...you still cold?”

“Less so.” Zelda blew into her cupped hands and held them out to the fire. “Link, I’ve been wondering…”

He tilted his head.

“How did you put up with me when we first met?”

He gave her a questioning look.

“I mean...I was not fair to you. I was cold and childish and absolutely horrible to be around. I feel terribly guilty about the way I treated you. So how did you put up with me?”

He did not expect that. Here he was, agonizing and worrying about accidentally making the princess hate him again when Zelda herself was worrying about how he felt about her behavior. He had no idea what the right thing to say to that was, so he said, “Well, for one, I was assigned to put up with you.”

Zelda let out a mock offended noise and lightly shoved him, laughing. “Was that a joke? Did my stoic knight just make a joke?”

“He might have.” Link’s mind snagged on the phrase, “my stoic knight,” but he quickly gave her one of his smiles she apparently liked and continued. “But, I also knew you were under a lot of pressure. So I didn’t mind for the most part, because I knew you weren’t yourself. Mostly.”

Zelda didn’t respond right away. When Link looked over, he saw her staring into the fire. “Princess?”

She turned to him slowly. “I...sorry, I was just thinking of what to say. I mean, thank you, of course. For giving me the benefit of the doubt.”

“Of course.”

There was a beat of silence and then Zelda let out a yawn. “I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until now.”

“You should sleep,” said Link.

Zelda hesitated.

“Princess, before we left the castle, you had barely slept because you were spending all your time researching the ancient Sheikah technology. And since we’ve left, we’ve been traveling tirelessly for days. For the past week, you’ve spent nearly all your waking hours busy and worrying yourself sick over the Champions and Ganon, and I know because I’ve been with you the entire time. We finally have a moment of peace and I’m saying you should rest because you can’t save Hyrule if you’re exhausted.”

“The same could be said to you.” Zelda gave him a pointed look.

“I’ve spent my whole life training physically to be a knight. I can last a few days without sleep.”

Zelda opened her mouth like she wanted to protest, but she yawned again instead. “Fine,” she finally said.

Link thought that was that and went back to poking the fire until he felt a gentle weight on his shoulder. He didn’t have to look to know that Zelda was currently resting her head against his shoulder.

Instead of utterly dying, he asked softly, in case she had fallen asleep, “Are you still cold?”

“No,” Zelda mumbled, eyes closed. “You’re very warm.”

Link didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything at all.

“You know,” said Zelda, words slurring slightly. “If I had to be stuck with someone as my appointed knight to follow me around Hyrule, I’m glad it’s you.” And then she fell asleep.

He could tell she was asleep because her breathing had evened out, and every worry line in her face smoothed away. For a moment, he forgot about the rest of Hyrule outside of their cave and he felt like he existed in a world where he was just a normal boy with the girl he liked sleeping on his shoulder, and not a royal knight tasked with saving the kingdom from a ruinous evil and acting horribly inappropriate with the princess of Hyrule. Link sat frozen, afraid to move in case he disturbed her and she woke up and this odd moment would end.

He knew they couldn’t stay like this. He would have to move away from her at some point—move her head off his shoulder and move to the other side of the cave, because he wasn’t a normal boy and she wasn’t a normal girl nor had they ever just been two normal people, and he couldn’t risk forgetting that.

But the rain was still pouring and showed no signs of stopping, and Zelda was still fast asleep on his shoulder, so he could still pretend for a little while longer.

* * *

When Zelda woke again, she was laying on the ground. She turned over and realized her head had been cushioned on Link’s folded cloak.

_ It smells like him. _

The image of Link’s hand pulling the hood over her head in the rain flashed through her mind and she quickly pushed it away. Zelda sat up and looked around for him before spotting Link crouched near the cave entrance. He was wearing his tunic again, the blue a constant reminder of their duties. His back was facing her, so he hadn’t seen her wake up.

The fire in the cave had long since died away and the sky was clear again. She guessed it was probably the next morning.

Memories of the night before resurfaced. First, Link speaking to her, then him using the Master Sword to start a fire, that grin he shot her, Zelda falling asleep on his shoulder—

She inwardly groaned. Had she really done that? Hopefully she hadn’t made him uncomfortable, and hopefully he would still talk to her after she (embarrassingly) admitted she liked the sound of his voice. 

Zelda sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling the knots out. She grabbed the cloak off the ground and draped it over her arm.

“Princess?”

She looked up, startled to hear Link’s voice. “Huh?”

“You’re awake,” observed Link.

Zelda nodded slowly, confused.

“Are you ready to go?”

She nodded again, the silent one for once.

Link watched her for a moment before leaning over to grab his things.

Zelda felt...slightly confused. Link wasn’t a man of many words, and most of their usual morning conversations didn’t involve this many words on his part. Link wasn’t one to call her to get her attention, and normally she could tell by the expression on his face what question he was asking her— _ are you okay? Are you ready? Do you need a moment?  _

As she watched Link gather his things off the ground, she foolishly wondered if he was speaking more because she had said she liked hearing him talk and quickly wiped the idea from her mind.

More memories from last night came to her, how he kept asking if she was cold, how he teased her, how warm he was when she fell asleep on his shoulder.

Zelda looked at Link again and had the sudden desire to say something to him, ask what he was thinking, wonder if she hadn’t imagined an entire night of tender moments.

“Link—“ Zelda said before she knew what the rest of her sentence was going to be.

“Yes, Princess?” Link looked at her, face open and receptive, eyes wide.

“I—“ Her heart was beating too fast. She felt it pounding against her rib cage, straining to get out of her chest, straining toward him. “I wanted to thank you for, well, for your cloak, and the fire, and forcing me to sleep last. I feel much better today.”

It was something she wanted to say to him, but not all of it.

Then, he smiled at her and Zelda felt thoroughly shaken because since when did Link give out his smiles so freely?

All she could do in response was smile back at him.

She swore she saw his cheeks redden, though it was hard to tell with the lighting of the cave. He quickly turned around, but not too quickly that she couldn’t catch a glimpse of the wider smile overtaking his face.

Zelda grinned wider and followed her smiling, stoic knight out of the cave.

**Author's Note:**

> i finally got botw like, almost a month ago and im highkey obsessed so i had to write something, but also wow, ive spent an excessive amount of time on this fic and its mostly bc i was trying to figure out where this fic was going, in that i knew how i wanted it to end i just had no idea what the middle was going to be about. the middle turned out okay i think but the end kind of sucks but god im so sick of looking at this fic and i have to pack for college. anyway, i hope someone likes this fic and thank u for reading!


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